This disc merges ancient China word and thought with modern music,
creating an adventurous collaboration between vocalist Gong Linna
and the avant-garde musical ensemble known as the Bang on a can All-Stars. Gong Linna is a premier jazz
fusion singer and world music artist who specializes in Chinese
traditional singing techniques. She sings in both Mandarin and
English. The Bang on a can All-Stars are an innovative
group of New-York based composers and musicians who specialize in
free jazz and experimental music. Lyrics for these songs are
translated from poems written by Chinese poet Qu Yuan, first
published during the Han Dynasty about two thousand years ago . Bang on a can founders David Lang, Julia Wolfe and
Michael Gordon translated and composed the music for several tunes
in this set. Lao Luo, also known as Robert Zollitsch, is the
husband of vocalist Gong Linna and also translated and composed
four of the selections.

Yun Zhong Jun
, with music written by Lao Luo to a translation by David Hawkes,
is a song about a luxurious flying god. Gong sings this tune in
Mandarin, her haunting voice softly setting the stage for a
heavenly trip. Ashley Bathgate’s sonorous bowing on cello, followed
by Vicky Chow’s rapidly repeating piano arpeggios, match Gong’s
rising soprano as it joins the god in flight. Into The Clouds was written by Julia Wolfe as a follow-on
to Yun Zhong Jun, and the band performs it to a rapid
rock-beat with a repeating mantra of phrases, sung in English, to
the wonders in the sky. He Bo was composed Lao Lou, with
lyrics by David Hawkes. The reflective tune describes a stormy
river trip in a chariot pulled by two dragons and meeting a river
god riding on top of a white turtle. Gong again sings in Mandarin,
and she uses a unique nasal quality in her voice to dynamically
express and change emotions. River is an extension and
conclusion to the river trip described in He Bo. With
music and lyrics by Michael Gordon, it is a fast, tension-building
piece with repeating phrases on guitar, bass and cello,
highlighting Gong’s kinetic sing-shouting in English describing a
climb along the river’s edge up Kunlun Mountain. Girl With Mountain, with words and music by David Lang, is
a delicate, peaceful soliloquy, sung in English with short, simple
phrases, accompanied by cello, bass and a single repeating note on
the piano. In stark contrast, Tan Te is a frantic
explosion of Gong’s rapid-fire Mandarin scat punctuated over three
octaves, matched and driven by David Cossin’s high-energy drum
work.

This album was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Rob
Friedman and David Cossin and released in July, 2017. The music was
recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey in June, 2015, and
mixed and mastered at Littlelife Studioin New York City.
The sound quality is excellent.